Adjusting To Different Stroke Techniques

News For

SWIM PARENTS

Published by The American Club Swimming Association

2101 North Andrews Ave., Suite 107

Fort Lauderdale FL 33311

___________________________________________________________________

Adjusting To Different Stroke Techniques

“My daughter’s Coach has been changing her strokes and now all of her times are slower.

Does the coach know what he is talking about?”

Answered by: Mitch Ivy, a member of the 1984 Olympic Coaching Staff.

It is not unusual to experience slower swimming while adjusting to different stroke techniques.

Often, times stroke techniques feel awkward and uncomfortable to the swimmer. It is

important for the parents to encourage and support their young swimmer when he or she is

going through this period.

Often times the swimmer will become frustrated with his slower times and he will become

discouraged. The parents need to reinforce the benefits and the positive effects that the

stroke changes will bring. Once he adapts to the changes, he will be much better off in the

long run. The coach’s job is to make the transition as smooth as possible, “educating” the

swim family along the way.

The importance of proper stroke technique cannot be stressed enough. Given two welltrained

and physically comparable athletes, the race will ultimately be determined by technique and efficiency such as strokes, starts and turns. Fundamental stroke work should be the base for all 10 and under swimmers. We (concord Pleasant hill swim team) introduce training formats to swimmers 11 years and older and do not apply full double workouts and/or strength training until roughly high school age, although this is dependent upon individual maturity, physically and mentally.

Stroke work is not a seasonal or a special day even! Instead, it is an everyday part of our

program. A stroke error left unattended will eventually prohibit proper racing form, and can

even lead to injury. I consider each workout a “stroke workout” and constant care and

attention are demanded from swimmer and coach alike.

You might not see results right away, but the coach is trying to lay the groundwork for your

swimmer to reach his/her fullest future potential in our great sport. Also, be aware that as the age grouper matures, his strokes will change. As the swimmer develops physically and mentally, he becomes technically more polished. Expect changes. It is very rare for a swimmer to go through age group swimming and senior swimming with the “best” stroke. Trust the coach. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the coach so that you may have better understanding of his teaching methods.

Officials & Their Duties

If anyone is interested in being an official, please contact me and I will put you in touch with the appropriate person to set up a clinic for you!

News For

SWIM PARENTS

Published by The American Club Swimming Association

2101 North Andrews Ave., Suite 107

Fort Lauderdale FL 33311

___________________________________________________________________

Officials And Their Duties

By Fred Cruciger, Longtime Florida USS Official and Swim Parent

When you as a parent go to a swimming meet you may not be totally familiar with the officials and their duties. In order to gain a better understanding of the functions of the officials, it might be a good idea to discuss the duties of each position and then to explain just how a person becomes an official.

The referee is the key official and is in complete charge of the competition. The referee makes decisions based upon the technical rules of swimming and assigns and supervises the other officials working the meet. The referee is the person who stands at the starting end of the pool and signals the starter when the race is ready to begin. No disqualification is final until the referee has signed the disqualification slip. The referee is the final authority.

The starter is responsible for ensuring a fair start to each race. He or she gives commands that are designed to inform the swimmer of the stroke and distance, to bring the swimmers to the proper starting position, and once all swimmers are motionless, he or she signals the race to begin with either the beeper or gun start.

There will also be stroke and turn judges stationed around the pool. They are charged with the specific responsibility of ensuring that the swimmers conform to the established rules of competition for that specific event. Each stroke has specific rules and it is up to these officials to enforce them.

Officials are well trained. The first level is that of a stroke and turn official. They can then progress to starter and finally to referee. Each level requires a clinic which is conducted by a certified clinic instructor. After the clinic there is a test and also a requirement for an apprenticeship period. During this time the apprentice works with a certified official to learn under actual competitive conditions. Once all of these phases are completed, the official is certified.

Once certified, each official must be recertified every two years. This is to ensure that each and every official is fully current on the rules. Rules change, and it is absolutely necessary for each official to be up to date. Rules can vary from very basic to highly complex. The key to the rules is contained in the first paragraph of the United States Swimming Rules and Regulations. It states "...so that no swimmer shall obtain unfair advantage over another." That is the reason for rules.

Also, officials are instructed to make sure that every benefit goes to the swimmer. In other words, if an official is unsure about a possible rule infraction, the benefit goes to the swimmer.

Officials signal a disqualification by raising a hand for about 20 seconds, or until the referee sees it. The purpose of the raised hand is not to signal any specific swimmer, but to call attention to the fact that a disqualification has taken place. The official calling the infraction will then write it up on paper, sign it and forward it to the referee for signature. Once signed by the referee the disqualification is official.

The referee is the only official who can be approached by a coach. The referee must know all of the details so that if approached by the coach, all of the necessary information will be at hand. Officials and coaches must work together. The coach wants his swimmer to be disqualified if there is an infraction. This becomes a teaching aid for the coach. If you, as a parent, have a question about a disqualification, contact your coach. Do not go to the referee. If the coach needs more information to answer your question, the coach will go to the referee.

Officials have a large responsibility. In virtually every case they are volunteers. They are not paid. They do this for the benefit of the sport. The chances are that they will have their own children in that meet. All of the officials do their best to be as fair and reasonable as possible. However, if they observe a rule violation, they will call a disqualification. That is why they are there.

Every meet must have a full staff of officials and this may be something that you might wish to try. One thing for certain, it sure makes the meet go more quickly! Contact any of the officials at the next meet you attend and ask them the procedure to become a certified official. It is a good way to learn some of the rules of the sport, contribute to the meet, and to show your children that you are supporting them.

What Can You Do To Help Your Child At Swim Practice

News For

SWIM PARENTS

Published by The American Club Swimming Association

2101 North Andrews Ave., Suite 107

Fort Lauderdale FL 33311

___________________________________________________________________

What Can You Do To Help Your Child at Swim Practice?

The best thing you can do is to encourage your children to “have fun, be safe, and swim smart” before practice and be sure they have a warm towel for after practice. After practice ask them if they had fun and learned anything new or did anything they had never done before and offer your praise. Sometimes children will express feelings to their parents that may help the coach provide a more suitable environment for the individual. You are encouraged to talk to the coach about your child’s responses to the practice sessions.

If you decide to watch practice the most important thing you can do is allow your child to focus on the coach and on the tasks at hand. We know it is common in many other youth sports for parents to stand at the sidelines and shout instructions or encouragements and sometimes admonishments to their children. We ask you not to signal them to swim faster, or to try a certain technique, or to offer to fix a goggle problem, or even to remind them to listen to the coach. In fact, just as you would never interrupt a school classroom to talk your child, you should not interrupt a swim practice by attempting to communicate directly with your child.

What’s wrong with encouraging your child during practice? There are two issues. First we want the child to focus on the coach and to learn the skill for their personal satisfaction rather than learning it to please their parents. Secondly, parental encouragement often gets translated into a command to swim faster and swimming faster may be the exact opposite of what the coach is trying to accomplish. In most stroke skill development we first slow the swimmers down so that they can think through the stroke motions. Save encouragements and praise for after the practice session.

What’s wrong with shouting or signaling instructions to your children? When I watch my 8 year old daughter play in a basketball league I understand the overwhelming desire to shout instructions to your child because that is what I want to do. But those instructions might be different from the coach’s instructions and then you have a confused child. Sometimes you might think the child did not hear the coach’s instruction and you want to help. The fact is that children miss instructions all the time. Part of the learning process is learning how to listen to instructions. When children learn to rely on a backup they will have more difficulty learning how to listen better the first time.

What’s wrong with helping your child fix their goggles? Quite simply, we want to encourage the

children to become self-reliant and learn to take care of their own equipment.

If you need to speak to your child regarding a family issue or a transportation issue or to take your child from practice early you are certainly welcome to do so but please approach the coach directly with your request and we will immediately get your child out of the water. If you need to speak to the coach for other reasons please wait until the end of practice or contact them by phone or e-mail.

Team Website - How to Sign Your Swimmer Up and Job Sign Ups

Job Sign Ups – How To

To sign up for a job, please visit our team website at www.dynamoswimclub.com. From there, click on "Events & Records" on the top toolbar of the home page. This will take you to the meet schedule, locate the swim meet you would like to work, and click on the button that says "Job Signup". From there click on a white box (which designates an available volunteer position) of a job you would like to do, then scroll down and on the left side click the green + box that says "Signup". After you sign up you should see a your name underlined next to the job position you signed up for.

On this same page that you are viewing, next to job sign up is also a "Attend This Event" button. Click this, and from there you will click on your swimmer's name. This will bring up a declaration page. You only need to declare if your swimmer is going to swim, you never have to not commit your swimmer unless you sign up for a meet and find out you can't attend before the deadline. The comment box is a great use to let a coach know if your swimmer can attend only a certain day or session, as well as if there is a schedule conflict and they may be late or need to leave early. Go ahead and save this and they will be committed.

Hope this helps!